The NACC said it found out about these stalled projects from citizens. “We’ll investigate these projects with the help of our field researchers or by contacting officials in charge of these projects. We want to know the reasons for the delays,” it added in a statement.

The commission said it would identify individuals or companies responsible for the delay of projects to take action against them in accordance with the law. “We have also noticed that the projects are not being carried out in accordance with specified standards.”

The NACC found some buildings under construction had cracks on their walls and holes in the ground. “In such cases we’ll ask the contractor or consultant to pay the cost for repair work.” Most stalled projects were found in remote areas.

Referring to another serious issue, the commission said some government offices were in outdated and dilapidated buildings. It also noted the poor supervision of projects and said panels that evaluate the completed projects lacked qualified engineers.

In a previous statement, Raed Aqeeli, chairman of the contractors committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, estimated the total value of delayed projects in the Kingdom at SR550 billion. He welcomed the plan to conduct a study on the problem by a neutral international consultancy.